“You have heard that it hath been said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you not to resist evil: but if one strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other: and if a man will contend with thee in judgment, and take away thy coat, let go thy cloak also unto him. And whosoever will force thee one mile, go with him other two. Give to him that asketh of thee and from him that would borrow of thee turn not away.”
“An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” was meant to calm the flames of hate, that punishment may not go beyond the crime committed. Jesus here seeks to enkindle the flames of love, that love may be victorious over all hate: “God shall let me see over my enemies” (Psalm 58:12), by the triumph of love. You are to love unfathomably, to be a living, present expression of God’s endless mercy: “I have not turned away my face,” the face of God’s merciful love, which you are, “from them that rebuked me, and spit upon me” (Isaias 50:6). Look to the story of Gedeon, where a great army was upended by three hundred men (Judges 6-8). “And when they sounded their trumpets in three places round about the camp, and had broken their pitchers, they held their lamps in their left hands, and with their right hands the trumpets which they blew, and they cried out: ‘The sword of the Lord and of Gedeon” (Judges 7:20). This is a type of the faithful, where if three hundred people, armed with songs of praise, represented by the trumpets, and lamps of love that illuminate the darkness of hate, bitterness, and half-heartedness that envelops the world, break the pitchers of the bonds that hold them, nations can be righted and love can claim its victory: “And the Lord delivered them into the hands of Israel. And they defeated them, and chased them as far as the great Sidon… He slew them all, so as to leave no remains of them” (Josue 11:8), that is, dispelling all darkness with the light of love. The Divine Physician works through you, and desires that you be patient with those that are sick. They may hate you, and strike you, but you are to provide the ointment of love that they need. The perfection of love in the Christian life is not to be loved, but to love, no matter the circumstances. Let your compassion reach to all, to those who would strike you, take from you, or demand much of you, give them an example of love that only grows under persecution. One that acts in such a way is tormented in heart, and the removal of your comfort or goods is secondary to the love they need: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). These commandments are a high call, showing that it is not enough not to hurt, but to show kindness and mercy at all times, even in the face of those that try you, for in this is your love proven: “Humble thy heart, and endure” (Ecclesiasticus 2:2). To the gift to all that ask, it is important that you leave no one unloved, and to ensure that everyone walks away from you happier than they found you. Thus, if you are unable to give, let your declining be so mixed with the honey of love that they still walk away joyful: “Thy lips, my spouse, are as a dropping honeycomb, honey and milk are under thy tongue” (Song 4:11). The only thing you will take to heaven is that which you have given away, and the heart poured out for others is the heart that mirrors Jesus’: “But one of the soldiers with a spear opened his side, and immediately there came out blood and water” (John 19:34), that is, His entire life and the love it contained were opened up for the sake of all people. Love, mercy, and wisdom abound all the more the more it is given, therefore to give these things is to store up treasure in heaven. Now, it is also important to remember the words of St. Paul: “Everyone as he hath determined in his heart, not with sadness, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). As a Christian, you are called to sow love and joy, not bitterness, for any act of charity done without sincere love is nothing before God. A small action done with a radiant smile and a heart of love is of far greater worth than many good things done coldly. What you do by God’s command will bear fruit, if not in time then in eternity, and you will be measured on the measure of love with which you lived your life. Let merciful love be your daily bread: “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, that I may perfect his work” (John 4:34), extending to all who ask, to all who need, to all who hate you, to all. Let love, joy, and beauty be strewn about the path of your life, that all who know you may be loved and enriched, and may experience the limitless, boundaryless love of God through you.